Unexpected
by AspiringAuthoress
Summary: ON HIATUS but please don't let that stop you. Feel free to read it anyway.
1. Kirsti

"…And she's got these gorgeous blue eyes, and the cutest laugh…"

Gabriella found herself wishing to rip her hair out. _Troy, I know we broke up and we agreed that it was for the better. But that was only a week and a half ago. And this new girl sounds really important to you but that's it! She's only important to you! I don't care, Chad doesn't care, Taylor doesn't care! No one cares! _She wanted to yell, though it seemed a little harsh.

That was the thing, Gabriella wanted to scream at Troy. She wanted to yell at him, kick out and flail her arms, walk away from him, but also, a small (very small, she told herself) part of her wanted to kiss him.

So she kept her mouth closed and plastered on a fake smile instead. She seemed to use those a lot around Troy these days, Gabriella noticed. To often really, but without another option what else was there to do?

"She sounds really…nice." 'Nice' seemed so bland and unfeeling to Gabriella that she would have glowered at him had he used it but Troy didn't really seem to care too much. It _would_ be like him not to care though, he didn't exactly have a history of doing what every one expected of him. Not that anyone expected or even wanted him to be pining over Gabriella. Except herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Troy leaned over the former 'drama' lunch table. Just two months ago the table, while looking like every other table in the large cafeteria, would have been strictly for the 'drama kids'. And every one would have known that.

Now Sharpay, Kelsi and Ryan were the only self proclaimed 'drama' kids left. Unless you counted Troy and Gabriella, who sorted themselves into other groups. Troy, Chad, and Zeke filled the athlete spot while Taylor and Gabriella were the self-appointed 'home-work helpers'. Every once in a while some one else would stop by for the day, sit and chat and return to their table the next day. Things were much more relaxed now, except for Gabriella.

She had yelled at Taylor two days ago, failed to study for a test (and therefore failed the test itself as well), and of course she was obsessing over Troy and his new…girlfriend? She wasn't quite sure if they were a couple yet, but it couldn't be long. Relaxing wasn't the issue right now, over-stressing was. If Gabriella could just find a way render Troy speechless (so he was shut up about this girl he kept mooning over) she would be fine. Probably.

"I asked her to go to the movies with me and she said yes. I'll be picking her up at eight so I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." Troy was saying to the group, he was talking about 'Her' again since Gabriella, being lost in thought, had ignored his question.

"Hey Troy. When do we get to meet this mystery girl? You talk about her all the time and we don't even know her name." Gabriella said lightly, hoping to at least find the name of her competition. _No, not competition_, she reminded herself. _This girl is a potential new friend. Put on another of your fake smiles, they're easy for you to wear now you know, so smile and greet her when you two finally meet._

"Actually, here she comes now. Hey Kirsti! Kirsti over here!" Troy waved an arm lazily beckoning 'Kirsti' over.

_Kirsti_, Gabriella mused before smiling at the new girl, _Kirsti, it's an ugly name_.

"This is Gabriella, my…uhhh." Troy trailed off when he introduced the two not wanting to make either one uncomfortable by calling Gabriella his ex-girlfriend.

"Oh, this is your ex-girlfriend! Hi there! Troy's certainly told me enough about you." Kirsti chirped.

"Well, he hasn't stopped talking about you." Gabriella returned, "I think I even know your favorite color now!" It was a good thing she'd had acting lessons for the musical, after all if it was true that actors were really just great liars then Gabriella was the best actress in the world.

"Well, I'll see you around guys!" Kirsti waved to every one and pulled Troy into a hug. Where she stood, Kirsti faced Gabriella straight on so no one else saw it when she stuck her tongue out at her. And with that it was official, all thoughts of friendship were gone.

Gabriella Montez wanted Kirsti's head on a pike.

**It's kinda a short chapter, but I like it. So umm…review if you loved it, review if you hated it, or review if you just kinda want to read the next chapter. Or you know, you could just not review at all and then I can go cry in a corner, lol. And I'm sorry if your name is Kirsti and you're offended.**


	2. A Plan

"Sharpay, can I ask you a question?" Gabriella rounded on the blonde as they walked down the sidewalk after school. After meeting Kirsti, Gabriella hadn't been able to concentrate for the remainder of the day. She was pretty sure she'd gotten a C on her Math test and when stopping at a McDonalds with Sharpay and Taylor she had ordered French fries and a shake instead of her usual salad.

"If your going to ask me if I think it's gross that you're dipping your fries in your shake, then the answer's yes." Sharpay curled her lip in obvious disgust. Embarrassed the darker haired girl shook her head and quickly swallowed the liquid covered fry.

"No, that's not it. It's stupid really but…it's a hypothetical question.", Sharpay nodded giving Gabriella a side long glance before she continued, "Let's say that you and Zeke broke up-"

"That won't be happening any time soon." she assured Gabriella rolling her eyes.

"I know, I know but, it's pretend, so pretend ok? So let's say you two did break up except then you started to re-think the situation. But then Zeke introduced you to his new girlfriend. His new girlfriend's a real-"

"Hey, Kirsti's nice." Sharpay cut in.

"It's hypothetical, Sharpay!" Exasperated Gabriella clenched her hand into a fist. Taking a deep breath and loudly exhaling she continued, "So you don't like this new girl. How do I get Troy back?"

"I thought we were talking about Zeke and I." Sharpay smirked resting one hand on her hip.

"I-we were! We are! We should be! Please help me." She ended up begging unceromoniously.

"Alright, alright I'll help you get Troy back, don't worry." The blonde held up her hands reassuringly. And, after assuring Gabriella, many times mind you, that she would call or come over as soon as she thought of something the two parted ways.

"Hey Mom, I'm home." Gabriella dumped her back pack on the floor and kicked off her shoes. Turning to see way her mother hadn't answered her she walked into the kitchen. Her mother sat at the table staring stonily at a plain white envelope. Looking up at her daughter she waved the envelope almost nervously.

"Your father sent us this."

Blinking, Gabriella took the envelope and stared at it reverently. Her eyes large she glanced at her mother.

"Don't worry, I know just what to do with this." Flicking a switch she fed the envelope to a paper shredder. "Now he's back where he deserves to be, out of my thoughts." She muttered.

"Gabriella Anne Montez! There was money in there!" Her mother ran to the shredder and looked forlornly at the small strips of green paper.

"We don't need his money. It's dirty." Gabriella turned her face haughtily, crossing her arms.

"You know as well as I do that we don't need the money, but we could use it. You could have bought a new pair of jeans or I could have pays some of our bills." Mrs. Montez reprimanded her daughter.

Still with her arms crossed obstinately Gabriella walked out of the kitchen, grabbed her back pack and stomped to her room. Where her phone rang.

"Hey Gabriella, should I wear a tie to the theater?" Troy's voiced crackled over the other side of the line, _he must be on his cell,_ Gabriella's mind wandered even as her voice answered.

"Troy. You're going to a movie theater, no one wears ties to the movies." She tried to choke out a laugh but it sounded oddly strangled.

"Is something wrong?" She thought she could detect concern in his voice but then again, it could have just been the connection.

"Is something wrong? Troy when is anything ever right?" Gabriella could have laughed at how clichéd and stupid that sounded but she was too worked up to fully appreciated her lack of creativity.

"Oh God, Gabi did your Dad call you again?"

"Call? Oh no, he didn't call. It's too much work to call your only daughter, plus I'd probably run up the long distance bill! And Florida's too relaxing to worry about being in debt!" She had worked herself up now but Troy didn't mind, sometimes Gabriella just needed to vent. Besides he had some time until he could really be considered 'late' for his date with Kirsti. She would understand, Kirsti was just so nice like that. Was it any wonder he couldn't wait to see her again?

* * *

When Gabriella's mother walked up stairs she found her daughter lying in bed crying her eyes out over a soap opera with a cheesy plot, and whose actors and actresses needed some lessons. 

"Honey your friend is here, why don't you blow your nose and wash your face." sShe suggested.

"But Mom, how will I know who Alejandro chooses? Jennifer or her evil twin sister Kirsti? I mean Kristina."

"Sharpay said it was urgent." In a flash Gabriella was out of bed taking the stairs two at a time stopping only to grab a tissue from the bathroom. She flung the door open and rushed out side, where Sharpay was examining her nails with a flier in one hand. She held it up and smirked.

"This is how you'll get Troy back."

**So, let's review what we have learned so far. I own nothing but Kirsti (who is in no way shape or form modeled after a real person). Gabriella still loves Troy, or at least still has feelings for him. Her father isn't living with Gabriella and her mother and she resents that. She watches soap operas. Sharpay has a plan. And you need to review this fic! Please do.  
**


	3. Auditions

"This is the song that doesn't END!" Four year old Jenny ran circles around Gabriella singing what she could only guess was the theme song to Jenny's favorite kid's show. As Gabriella massaged her temples and sat on the couch the child she was charged with keeping an eye on continued to run. Now in the kitchen she was still shrieking, erm singing.

"Yes it goes ON and ON my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was. And they'll continue singing it forever just because…This is the song that doesn't END! Yes it-"

"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me. I still feel your touch in my dreams." Yes she knew it was unethical and more likely than not unsafe, but Gabriella really needed Cascada to save her from 'the song that didn't end'.

Listening to the music pumping through the head phones of her iPod she relaxed until some thing, _someone _really, tugged on the denim material of her pants. Looking down Gabriella pulled off her head phones, paused the song, and smiled at the young girl who looked expectantly up at her.

"Mommy said I could have two bowls of ice cream for dessert today." She informed her seriously. Ruffling the girls hair Gabriella laughed.

"Your mommy told me that you already had dessert." She leaned down and picked Jenny up, "Besides I think it's your bed time."

"But I'm not tired." She protested fighting back a yawn as she spoke. Pouting she allowed herself to be carried up to her room and then to be tucked in for the night. Gabriella flicked on the hall light (Jenny was going through the 'monsters under the bed' stage) and picked up her book to read. She had baby-sat for Jenny before and chances were that the four year old would come back downstairs for a glass of water and then again because she forgot to say good night to her cat.

At nine o'clock when Jenny was finally asleep Gabriella put down her book, Great Expectations, she was re-reading it for a book report, and pulled out her iPod once again.

Every Time We Touch was still playing and this time Gabriella really listened to the words. It dawned on her that this song might tie in with Sharpay's idea and she pulled the slightly crumpled flier out of her purse.

**Can you sing? If your answer was yes then we want you!  
Come try out for New Mexico Notes, a fun competition where you can find out if you have what it takes to WIN!**

The flier went on to describe the Grand Prize, a new sports car and five hundred dollars, and the audition times and location. While she had dismissed it before as being tacky, with a real plan in mind now Gabriella quickly scoured the paper for the audition times. It seemed that they were being held in her home town Albuquerque ( a lucky break her her being that she couldn't drive), the same place the competition would be held, and there were still two more days left to try out.

If Gabriella could just find enough songs her plan might work. With the help of Sharpay it was bound to at least get Troy's attention.

* * *

"So, you and I are going to enter this competition together?" Sharpay stood in line with Gabriella waiting to be admitted into the room where the judges sat waiting to listen to too many hopeful singers. They had already seen many leave in tears, whether they had been tears of joy or sadness was debatable for some, and many other's leave before they even auditioned. Sharpay wasn't nervous, this being only one of the many she had been through, but Gabriella had never really auditioned for any thing before. For the musical she had been singing with Troy not on her own in front of people she didn't even know. Unwittingly she ran through a list of suggestions her mother had given her earlier.

Don't fidget, always look calm, be polite, make eye contact. And above all don't forget the lines. Realizing that Sharpay was talking to her again Gabriella re-directed her attention to the blonde.

"What I don't get is why I'm the one trying out with you. I'm mean, it's not like we hate each other or any thing but we aren't best friends either." She was saying, and she did have a point. She and Gabriella were not exactly friends, they were more like friendly competitors.

"I need some one to help me. Yes it's true that we're not the best of friends but I don't hate you. And you're a great singer so you'll definitely get in, hopefully I will too." Sharpay nodded accepting Gabriella's explanation thoughtfully.

"Yeah…we'll both get in and then it's almost guaranteed that you'll get Troy back. The competition's in Albuquerque and admittance is free so he's almost garunteed to come to the show. Plus you're his friend so he'll come because of that anyway. I figure you're good enough to stay in the competition for a while." Sharpay nodded her plan formulating as she spoke.

They were almost inside the building now. It loomed in front of the two girls casting them into a shadow. Gabriella shivered and took a deep breath. Nervousness taunted her, playing out scene's of embarrassment in her mind. Just as she was turning the idea of leaving over in her mind the door opened and Sharpay was admitted into the room.

She strode in confidently with a toss of her hair, leaving Gabriella outside twisting her hands. For ten agonizing minutes (though it felt like many more) Gabriella stood straining her ears to hear the judges comments. She heard nothing of course and her distress grew. If Sharpay didn't make it then would she even bother trying out?

Before the answer to her question was required however, Sharpay walked out just as confidently as she'd walked in. In her hand she held a pin that she was to wear in the next stage of the competition stating that she had made it through the audition and had been asked to come back to audition again (this time in front of a live audience) for a spot in the finals. Smirking she displayed the pin to the nervous girl and called to her before Gabriella was ushered inside,

"This is your goal right now. Make it to the finals!"

* * *

If Gabriella thought that the audition room was small, then nothing had prepared her for the stage. It was little more than a carpet on a raised platform. Stepping up she stood in the middle and faced the judges. There were three of them and they sat side by side each of them with a varying degree of disinterest on their faces. The middle one motioned for her to begin while the other two looked at her expectantly.

"I'm going to sing My Immortal by Evanescence," She said, trying to sound as confident as Sharpay had looked. Taking a one final breath when the judges nodded at her to begin, after scribbling down her song of choice, Gabriella began.

"I'm so tired of being here  
Suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
'Cause your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal  
This pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have  
All of me-"

The center judge, who seemed to be the head, held up his hand and Gabriella stopped barely able to keep from biting her lip. Had she done well enough? She thought she had, but who could tell if they were really as good as they thought they were. Behind her back her fingers laced together cutting off her circulation. As she anticipated the results all three judges leaned together murmuring about her fate. Finally the one on the left smiled.

"Congratulations, you have one of the better voices we've heard today. We would like to ask you to continue on in the competition."

WHOOOOOOOO! Good chappie in my opinion but that isn't what matters. It's what you thought that counts, so what did you think? I'm dying to know!


	4. First Stage

**I'm so so so sorry that it took me almost a month to update! I had major writers block but I'm cured! lol anyway you all probably want to read so...Oh I don't own 'Love Me Like That' by Michelle Branch, youtube it.  
**

"Why am I wearing this again?" Gabriella stood backstage with Sharpay wearing the most promiscuous outfit she had ever worn. The outfit (a corset top, tight low rise jeans, and stilettos) coupled with the hundred some-odd people who would see her in it were beginning to wear down Gabriella's confidence.

Gabriella tugged the jeans up doubtfully, she would have preferred them to be less 'low-rise' and more comfortable. Sharpay just sighed.

"You're getting Troy back in stages, remember? This is the 'look at what you lost' stage. You have to look way better than Kirsti for that. And in that outfit, there's no competition, believe me."

Somewhere on stage the pounding music stopped and Gabriella was called to the stage. As Sharpay guided her to the entrance she turned her head.

"One more question, why am I doing this again?"

"You can tell me when you're going out with Troy." With that Sharpay gave her one more shove and she stumbled onto the stage plastering on a fake smile and squinting against the bright lights.

As she accepted the microphone from the host Gabriella scanned the crowd for Troy and Kirsti. She was sure they had come but didn't see any sign of even Kirsti obviously fake platinum blonde hair.

A slightly country tune floated through the air and Gabriella focused her attention on the song.

"_Well you stole my heart  
And I'll get it back.  
But look me in the eye, babe.  
Tell me why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that."_

The words flowed from her lips and the song she had committed to memory pounded into the crowd. It was true that country wasn't really her style of choice but she and Sharpay had carefully picked songs for their lyrics. Gabriella knew that it wouldn't get to Troy the first week, or possibly not even the second but sooner or later he would realize what she was doing. And Gabriella could only lie to him for so long.

"_Well I've walked this world  
Five times or more.  
And after all this walking, babe  
Still got me crawlin' on the floor.  
Crawlin' on the floor._

_And I know  
This world keeps on turning.  
Keeps me yearning."_

There! Three seats to the left of her parents Troy sat, an arm around Kirsti. They swayed happily to the music and Kirsti turned to whisper something to Troy making him laugh. Jealousy bubbled into her voice and Gabriella's voice steadily rose until she was belting out the words to the chorus.

"_How can you turn and walk away?  
Pretending everything's okay.  
How can you turn your back?  
Tell me why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that."_

Suddenly the volume of her voice fell dramatically and Gabriella could feel the crowds attention focusing on her. Though it make her want to shrink into the shadows, she stood tall and smiled a little as if she were enjoying being scrutinized by hundreds of people.

"_Well I thought you listened,  
But I'm shattered like broken glass.  
Well I thought that we'd be different, babe.  
Yeah I thought that we would last.  
I thought that we would last."_

"_And I know  
This world keeps on spinnin'.  
Every minute that you're in it."_

Don't think about the break up, just sing. Just sing. She chanted over and over closing her eyes so as not to spill any of the tears that threatened to pour out.

"_How can you turn and walk away?  
Pretending everything's okay.  
How can you turn your back?  
Tell me why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that."_

Every thing about Troy, from Gabriella's feelings towards him to his girlfriend, was so hazy she hardly knew what to think. While it was true that they had stated friendly there was only so much closeness you could feel to someone who you had dated. And only so much closeness you could show to them as well.

"_Love me or leave me, baby  
But don't lead me on.  
With lovin' like yours,  
Believe me baby, I'm better off  
I'm better off alone."_

Was she better off with out Troy. Some people (like Kirsti, Gabriella thought mercilessly) seemed to think so. Gabriella wasn't so sure. It had been nice to take a break for a while, for the first time she had felt free to say which guys she thought looked cute with out worrying about Troy's reaction, but she had gotten lonely. Gabriella missed Troy, and she was going to make sure that even if he didn't love her any more he knew that she did.

"_Well I was your gypsy  
Throwin' diamonds at your feet.  
Driftin' round you like a satellite  
I gave you everything you need.  
Everything you need."_

Letting her mind free, Gabriella sang for the next few minutes purely because she loved to sing. Forget Troy, forget Kirsti, forget Sharpay, forget everything she told herself.

"_And I know   
This world keeps on turning.  
Keeps me yearning and yearning._

_How can you turn and walk away?  
Pretending everything's okay.  
How can you turn your back?  
Tell me why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that._

_How could you just break away?  
Why can't you find the words to say?  
Love is something you work at.  
Tell me why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that.  
Why you love me like that."_

Had they even tried to save their relationship? Gabriella couldn't remember but it didn't matter they were over and nothing was getting them back together, that was the mind set she needed for the ending of the song. Gathering all the hatred she felt towards Kirsti for being Troy's new girlfriend, at herself for letting it all end, and at Troy for…for just being an idiot she glared at the crowd and turned towards Troy and Kirsti.

"_How can you throw us away  
Look at what you lost today.  
Now everything is shades of grey  
And now you're pushin' me away  
Say all the things you need to say  
I thought we were goin' all the way  
Play all the games you wanna play  
So that we just fade away."_

Applause thundered into her ears and the host walked towards her. Reality crashed down on Gabriella, the reality of what she had done or meant to do at least, and she dropped the microphone and ran off stage.

**I've been getting about five reviews per chapter, this is great for my first fic! Keep 'em coming guys!!**


	5. New Plan

**I'm back for good, see? Thank you all for sticking with me! Your reviews meant so much!  
**

**Chapter Five**

"Gabriella, what's wrong with you?" Sharpay demanded as the brunette ran off stage, "They loved you out there. Running off stage is gonna hurt your points in stage presence."

"I-I got stage fright." The girl who had been caught by the arm stammered.

"Stage fright my ass. You had a lead role in a musical. You don't get stage fright after that. Believe me I know. So you either go back out there and pretend like nothing happened or tell me what did." Sharpay figured it was obvious that Gabriella wouldn't be going back out, at least not yet. And she really was curious as to why the girl had left the stage, seemingly unprovoked. She guided Gabriella over to a deserted area back stage and told her to sit on the floor. Taking a glance at the said floor, which was too dirty for her tastes, Sharpay pulled a wooden crate over and sat on it.

"Look, Sharpay you're being really great about helping me with this and all, but I don't think I want to anymore."

"Want to what?" Maybe Gabriella was just hysterical, but she really wasn't making any sense at the moment.

"I don't want to go out with Troy anymore. I think it's better if we just kept going our separate ways." Gabriella readied herself for the cry of disbelief she was sure was going to come. She didn't want to, and wasn't sure if she could, explain her decision.

It wasn't that she didn't like Troy, quite the contrary. No, Gabriella was still completely positive that she was in love with him, but his face…It didn't take an idiot to see that Troy was happy with Kirsti and Gabriella was definitely no idiot. He wouldn't stay with Kirsti forever though, of that she was sure. But while he did Gabriella would continue to plaster smiles onto her face and pretend to like Kirsti.

"Okay."

"What?" So lost in her thoughts was the brunette that she had forgotten that she was currently letting Sharpay down.

"I said okay, you're over Troy. It was bound to happen sooner or later. You two were too happy together. Your relationship was too perfect, so when it had the tiniest problem it crashed and burned."

"A-and your okay with the fact that your plan isn't necessary anymore." It really wasn't Sharpay's style to just give up on something. Which meant that she either understood and accepted it or she was still scheming. Gabriella being as naïve and trusting as she was, believed that Sharpay understood her.

"Sure, all you have to do now is let him know that you've moved on. In-"

"Excuse me, but the producers want to know where you are." One of the crew members, a tall thin woman desperately in need of a new wardrobe and some fashion tips, addressed Gabriella.

Always annoyed at being overlooked, after all she had spent a good portion of her life being the center of attention in plays and musicals, Sharpay raised a manicured hand.

"She's having a bit of a moment here."

"Well, what should I tell them?" The woman ignored the blonde once again as she looked at Gabriella expectantly.

"Okay look. I said we're busy, so if you want me to go on stage and tell the audience that she's having guy problems, I will. If not tell them that she felt nauseous." She snapped, tired already of the crew members presence and for the first time the woman looked at her. A quick glance over to Gabriella's horrified expression told her that it was time to leave.

"That won't be necessary. I'll tell the producers that contestant number fourteen felt sick." The woman scurried away and Sharpay settled back onto the box. Crossing her legs and placing her hands on her lap she smiled.

"Gabriella you really need to learn how to deal with people like I do. But since you can't even deal with your ex I suppose that talent won't come to you for a while, will it? Anyway as I was saying, let him know in your next song that you're over him."

"Troy doesn't even know that the first song was _about_ him." She protested.

"You don't give him enough credit." Sharpay sighed examining her nails, "Troy and I aren't as smart as you or Taylor but we aren't stupid. I came up with a plan to keep you two apart when you wanted to try out for the musical and Troy thought of a way to get around that. _You_ just sang and did what you were told. So don't underestimate people just because they don't get A's in every class."

"I'm sorry Sharpay I'm just a bit over whelmed I guess. You know I really should go back on stage..." Gabriella glanced at the onstage entrance as if she really didn't want to go after all but Sharpay was already helping her up.

"You know that might be a good idea." She answered sarcastically, "and relax, every one loved you. Including Troy, so don't get all worked up. Just because you don't want him to be your boyfriend doesn't mean he can't be your friend."

"Thanks Sharpay. I really don't deserve this. You're being so nice right now."

"You think so?" The blonde smirked, another plan already formulating in her head. There was no way she was going to let her old one go to waste.

**Sharpay showed a bit of her ice-queen nature in this chapter, there's only more of her icey tendencies to come** **though. Please review and let me know what you thought!!!**


	6. Surprise

**Disclaimer: Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson does not and will not ever belong to me. Neither will HSM and related characters. Except Kirsti, her I own.  
**

"Look who's back folks!" The host held out his arm signaling to Gabriella, who walked onto the stage holding a microphone, "The last contestant to make it through last week's elimination round. Gabriella Montez!"

Quickly he hurried off the stage while the brunette stood in the center. It had been a week since her first performance and things had been going well. She had actually managed to have a whole conversation with Kirsti and had remembered to study for an English test. People she had never spoken to at school were congratulating her and saying that they were going to vote for her this week.

This week being her first real performance, where the judges could only give their opinions and her chance of staying in the competition was up to her many new "fans". Of course Sharpay had made it in too and though she was not as well liked she had been at the school longer and so had many of her own supporters. Which was just as well, Gabriella was planning to quit if Sharpay was voted out.

"_Here's the thing  
We started out friends  
It was cool, but it was all pretend  
Yeah, yeah, since you been gone  
You dedicated, you took the time  
Wasn't long, til I called you mine  
Yeah, yeah, since you been gone  
And all you'd ever hear me say  
Is how I pictured me with you  
That's all you'd ever hear me say"_

They had started out friends, granted they hadn't stayed 'just friends' for very long. In fact she and Troy hadn't even _known_ each other for very long when he had asked her out. And Taylor _had_ complained that Gabriella had talked about Troy all the time for the first few months they had been going out. Maybe there was more truth to this song than she had originally thought.

_"But since you been gone  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so moving on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you now I get what I want  
Since you been gone"_

And then again…The chorus was about how she was better off with out Troy, which up until recently she had been striving to prove wrong. However Gabriela was attempting to move on with her life and accept her loss of Troy. Was she really as confusing as this song in real life? Gabriella wondered.

_"How can I put it, you put me on  
I even fell for that stupid love song  
Yeah, yeah, since you been gone  
How come I'd never hear you say  
I just wanna be with you  
Guess you never felt that way"_

What if Troy really had never loved her? He hadn't seemed to fazed by their break-up, granted that it _had_ been on friendly terms and a mutual agreement between the two. Now that she thought of it though Troy had sung to her…those few lines on the balcony had made her heart flutter. She'd definitely fallen for him then- and she'd fallen hard.

_"But since you been gone  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so moving on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you now I get what I want  
Since you been gone"_

There was that chorus again. She was seriously considering skipping the next one. Alright technically she couldn't do that, the judges wouldn't be pleased that Gabriella had done a bit of last minute editing to her song. Maybe if she danced like a lunatic while she sang it? Though she couldn't actually see what good that would do…

_"You had your chance, you blew it  
Out of sight, out of mind  
Shut your mouth, I just can't take it  
Again and again and again and again"_

Perfect lines she thought. Clear and to the point, if Troy knew as much as Sharpay claimed he did then he would have gotten the message by now. The only problem with the message? It wasn't accurate, Troy couldn't be 'out of mind' if he was sitting in plain sight just four rows away from her could he? Gabriella thought not but that line about shutting his mouth…Well it _would_ be nice if he would stop talking to Kirsti and listen to me sing, she thought.

_"Since you been gone (since you been gone)  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so moving on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you (thanks to you)  
Now I get, I get what I want  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so moving on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you (thanks to you)  
Now I get (I get)  
You should know, that I get  
I get what I want_

_Since you been gone  
Since you been gone  
Since you been gone"_

So the crazy dancing hadn't happened. It wasn't as if anyone felt at a loss because of it, in fact Gabriella had received a semi-standing ovation. She really hadn't thought it was _that_ good and nervously she urged the audience to sit back down. It was time now for the judges comments, the part of the competition Gabriella had missed last time due to her miniscule mental break down.

"Loved it."

"Amazing."

"Work on you pitch a little bit."

That had been it. No elaboration no explanation, just each judges laconic comment and Gabriella found herself being guided off the stage by the host. The audience was still clapping for her and/or booing at the last judges comment when Gabriella had met up with Sharpay, who was scheduled to sing next.

"Good luck!" She called out as she passed the blonde, who heard nothing but the sounds of her own vocal warm-ups.

Continuing on her journey back stage Gabriella was surprised to run into Troy and Kirsti. The blonde hung onto his arm laughing annoyingly at a joke he had made. Does he ever go anywhere with out her? Gabriella thought enviously.

"Hey Gabriella! We were just looking for you!" Kirsti smiled, looking very much like she actually wanted to see her. Though Gabriella noticed that she clung tighter onto Troy, as if claiming him.

"Yeah, actually we're looking for Sharpay. I need to ask her something about later tonight." Troy looked past Gabriella, he seemed to be very distracted she noticed.

"Well she went onstage already. And I really have to go home, homework to do, T.V. to watch, people to call…" She trailed off shrugging helplessly, Troy had one girlfriend already did he really need to go after Sharpay as well?

"No! No see you can't go home yet!" Troy shouted while Gabriella and Kirsti looked at him strangely. So at least they had one thing in common now, they both thought he was crazy. Not much of a connection, Gabriella thought, but it's a start.

"I mean, your mom left already. She asked me if I would drive you home but I'm also giving Sharpay a lift. So we can't leave until she's done." This made sense at least. Troy and Taylor were the only one's in Gabriella's group that had cars. Technically Sharpay did too but because she didn't turn seventeen for another month she couldn't drive hers yet. Taylor had gone to visit her grandparents for the weekend so she wasn't here supporting her friend as she usually would have been.

"Alright well there's Sharpay now so let's go." Gabriella hadn't realized that they had been talking or standing there for at least ten minutes until Kirsti had pointed to the blonde who was walking toward them. Ten minutes was plenty of time for Sharpay to sing her song and listen to the judges comments.

"Hello Troy, Kirsti. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Now Gabriella yes, her I was expecting." Saying so the blonde handed a bouquet of roses she had received to Gabriella. The tag read _To a most amazing and spectacular singer. Love Zeke. _

"Aww, that's so sweet. I wish some had given me roses."

"Well maybe someone still will. Come on we're sneaking out the back to escape all of your adoring fans." Playfully Gabriella hit Troy's arm and he picked her up and swung her around. She was laughing and thing had seemed like they were back to normal when some one cleared her throat.

Kirsti stood with her hands on her hips and Sharpay quickly hid a smile be hind the bouquet Gabriella had dropped on the floor. Guiltily the two friends stepped away from each other one going to his girlfriend and the other to hide behind the blonde who was still smiling. As Troy led them out she barely turned her head to glance at Gabriella.

"And that's why you two are perfect for each other."

"Maybe…." Gabriella did not sound at all convinced. Sharpay guessed that she'd just have to work harder. There was no way that plan was going to waste.

The drive to Gabriella's house was a sober one. Troy shot Kirsti pleading looks for the whole drive while she ignored him. Sharpay seemed to be deep in thought, so that left Gabriella to stare out the window of the little red sports car.

When they arrived at her house, Gabriella was surprised to see that the three other occupants unbuckled their seatbelts. Troy was even reaching for the car door.

"Guys I can walk up my driveway by myself." she laughed, missing the uneasy glances the others shot each other. Kirsti was the first to recover.

"But I wanted to meet your mom. Troy was telling me what a good cook she is and we were wondering if we could beg a meal off of her."

"And I have no where to go but inside while they eat." Sharpay added, " So I'll just be hanging around until they're done."

Shrugging Gabriella made her way up the pathway, friends in tow. Her mom _was_ a great cook and it really was just about dinner time. Smiling at them again, just for good measure, she opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

**Ooooohhh cliffhanger! But hey, it's not a bad one (I hate when it's like right after someone gets hurt or something) so at least I do have some appreciation for your feelings, lol. Please review, and if anyone has song suggestions I'd be glad to hear them! I have maybe two idea before I have to go on a song hunt so if you have an idea I'd love to hear it! But please keep in mind that it _is _Gabriella who's singing.   
**


	7. Celebration

**Sorry for the wait! I was studying for finals and didn't really have time to sit down and write this chapter** **so I wrote it in pieces. I hope it still flows well enough though.**

"Surprise!"

"What the…" It took Gabriella a few minutes to figure out what all these strangers were doing in her house. It took her a few more minutes to realizes the she _knew_ all of these strangers, or most of them at least. There was her grandmother and over there was her grandfather both on her mother's side, most of her friends were outside by the pool, and here came her aunt and uncle, the only relatives on her father's side who still deigned to associate with Gabriella and her mother, gifts in hand.

"But, but it's not my birthday." she protested turning to the three who had brought her in. Sharpay was already mingling with the crowd, laughing and talking animatedly. Kirsti looked as confused as Gabriella but quickly looked up at Troy.

"Yeah, what's up with this party Troy?" She asked hands on her hips, it was obvious that Troy had known about this and not told Kirsti. Though it shouldn't have made her happy to see Kirsti mad at Troy, and with the way she was looking at him it seemed as if murder was on her mind, Gabriella couldn't help but smile.

"Gabriella! Congratulations! Your father never told us that you sang." Gabriella's aunt hugged her, she hadn't seen her niece in the three years since the divorce, "Your uncle and I just arrived here yesterday so we haven't had a chance to hear you yet, we didn't even know that you had entered this competition until I called your mother two days ago! We were talking about how you were adjusting to the new school and then she mentioned that you had been in a musical. Naturally we began talking about singing and this American Idol spin-off the town was doing came up. When your mom said that she was throwing a surprise party for you we knew we had to come."

Gabriella's aunt hadn't changed in three years that was for sure, she was still the biggest talker she knew. Her uncle murmured a greeting and moved away to talk to another guest. It seemed that he hadn't changed either, Gabriella still wasn't sure why her shy uncle had married such an out going woman, he was always getting dragged to social outings by his wife.

After hugging her aunt another time Gabriella turned back to Troy and Kirsti, who were arguing now. Gabriella bit her lip, she knew that this argument could put a dent in their relationship, one that she could use to her advantage, but to see any of her friends disagreeing brought out her natural peacemaking nature. They were a relatively new couple, the brunette thought as she began to plan out ways to mediate the altercation, so they probably would be easy to consol. She didn't want to patch it up too much though, she still wanted both to go away remembering this bump in the relationship.

"What I want to know is why you didn't tell me!" Kirsti placed her hands stubbornly on her hips.

"I didn't want you to let it slip, the less people who know the better." Troy remained calm, though Gabriella could see that he was losing his cool, and quickly too. She would have to intercede soon, unless Kirsti gave up.

"You told Sharpay! She's like the gossip queen of the school!" Kirsti wasn't giving up it looked like, on the contrary she seemed to be getting worse. A whining edge crept into her voice.

"Hey, guys," Gabriella started tentatively smiling nervously when they both turned their glares on her, "Kirsti I think this was my mom's plan, she doesn't really know you so she probably didn't mention you when she told Troy. Troy's one of my best friends so that's why my mom told him about this, plus he knows all the people who I would have wanted to come." There, that made sense if Kirsti didn't back down now Gabriella would leave the couple to settle it themselves.

"Who asked you?"

That was her cue to leave, she backed away when Troy started in on Kirsti for snapping at Gabriella. Turning completely around she nearly ran into Taylor. Breathing a sigh of relief she allowed her friend to congratulate her before bring up the argument she had just witnessed. And knowing that Taylor didn't like Kirsti anymore than Gabriella did filled her in.

"You'll never guess which happy couple is fighting right now." Gabriella told Taylor as they walked outside.

It looked like Mrs. Montez had invited the whole school, every where teens where standing in small groups chatting or splashing at each other in the pool. A long table had been set up for refreshments and the two girls moved closer to the table, as much to grab something to eat as to get out of the splash zone.

"Don't tell me, Lunkhead and the royal bitch are going at it." So maybe Taylor disliked Kirsti more than Gabriella, it was definite that her animosity towards Troy was the opposite of how her friend felt.

"Interesting nicknames but yes, Kirsti's mad at Troy because he didn't tell her about the party. No one told me and I'm not complaining." She reached out to add a slice of watermelon to her plate.

"It's your _surprise_ party, of course no one told you." Taylor answered munching on her own slice of watermelon, "Have you even seen your mom yet? I was going to thank her for inviting me but I haven't seen her." Of course Taylor would want to thank her mom, she was incredibly polite, almost annoyingly so at times, to her elders.

"Actually I haven't seen her." Gabriella scanned the crowd but to no avail, most of the people outside were from her school, the adults were inside away from the noise and the water, "I should probably go look for her, you know to say thanks."

Taylor nodded and Gabriella headed towards the house, staying closer to the outside as she went. A blonde walked by her, for a second Gabriella thought it was Kirsti but she quickly dismissed this idea, Kirsti was with Troy and besides there were a lot of fake blondes in East high.

"Phase three complete!" A different blonde grabbed her arm. Sharpay had managed to wear one of her many designated 'party outfits' to the show. Gabriella had dismissed it then but now it strangely made sense.

"Phase…I'm sorry what?" Sharpay pursed her lips in annoyance at Gabriella's confusion.

"Phase one, get him to notice you. Phase two, make him jealous. Phase three, cause problems between him and his girlfriend. It's so perfect, Gabriella you're a natural at these kinds of things!" She held up her fingers, counting off the different phases that their plan had been through.

"Wait, I thought phase _one_ was make him jealous." Gabriella said as Sharpay waved her off and walked away, "And I thought we were calling them stages!" She called after the blonde.

"Calling what stages?" Troy asked coming up from behind her.

"Oh you know, the plan to get you back with…TROY!" Gabriella whirled around fully realizing who she was talking to.

"Um that doesn't make sense. Get me back with me?" _At least he doesn't know what I'm talking about_, Gabriella thought as her ex-boyfriend and the subject of most of her troubles stared down at her in confusion.

"G-get you back where?" She stammered racking her brain for an excuse, _Plan B: I could always run away if I can't think of something, _"Get you back together with Kirsti of course!" She lied not quite believing what her traitorous mouth was saying.

"Oh…right because of the fight." Troy said slowly, "Well we didn't break up if that's what you think, things are just a bit…rocky."

"Oh good!" Gabriella gushed, "Because Sharpay and I thought we might have to do something about it!"

"Sharpay wanted to help someone? With no personal gain?" Gabriella could see where this was confusing him, _if he only knew the truth_, she thought wryly.

"You don't know the half of it." She grumbled before turning away with the excuse of finding her mom.

Someone, possibly and extended relative, or a neighbor, had told Gabriella that her mother had gone upstairs. She climbed upward wondering what could take her mother away form the party, usually she wasn't very sociable but she had never left a celebration that she had thrown. Her room was empty as was her mother's. The guest room was occupied but for a different reason, if Gabriella could trust her ears.

"Excuse me? The party's downstairs, the guest's should stay down there." She knocked lightly on the door but whoever was in there hadn't shut the door all the way, it slowly creaked open.

"Kirsti? What are you doing here?" It was indeed Kirsti and it seemed Troy had joined her. Beet red she untangled herself from him and stumbled out into the hallway, fixing her hair and straitening her clothing.

"Don't tell anyone about this okay?" She sounded desperate and looked it too with eyes wide open and lips barely visible.

"I don't think Troy will mind…" Gabriella began but Kirsti cut her off in a heated whisper.

"Not mind?! Of course he'll mind!"

"I guess, I didn't know he so private about…these things." She didn't recall Troy being so tight lipped about their relationship but people changed she guessed.

"What…? Oh you think...! Well I guess he does look...!" Kirsti began to laugh as she talked in short incomplete sentences. Gabriella was just about willing to bet that she had gone crazy when Kirsti grabbed her shoulders.

"Yeah Troy's a little weird with things like this. Just don't tell anyone and he'll be happy, I don't know why he's like that but," she shrugged, "whatever floats his boats I guess."

Gabriella walked away so weirded out by the blondes strange behavior that she had forgotten to ask the two to go down stairs. Something was up with that girl…

**PLEASE REVIEW! I know I took a while to update but I promise that won't happen next time! But your reviews will make me happy in the meantime...coughhinthintcough :)**


	8. The Zoo

AHHH! I'M SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER!!!!! I was on vacation for like two weeks, then I had to work this chapter out, it's been written for a while but I didn't like it and was constantly changing things…It is extra long though so hopefully that makes up for it's lateness.

Gabriella was confused, and a little angry as well. Troy had grabbed her arm at the end of the party last night saying that he hadn't gotten to congratulate her or even spend that much time with her lately. At first she had brushed him off saying it was no big deal but when he proposed to take her somewhere, to use his exact words "like on a date", she had relented. That was of course before she knew where they were going.

When normal people took some one else out "like on a date", they went to movies or to dinner or did both. Sometimes they went ice skating or dancing. Or they just hung out in a park watching stars. Troy Bolton on the other hand took his "dates" to the zoo.

And he brought his girlfriend along.

"A zoo? You're taking me- uhm…us, to a zoo?" Gabriella corrected herself upon seeing Kirsti's bright blonde head bouncing over to the two.

"Well yeah I thought you might want to you know do some research, like on how wild animals act differently from I dunno, not wild ones." Troy shrugged, he had honestly thought it was a good idea.

"The behavioral differences between wild and captive animals." Gabriella mused, "That would make a great extra credit paper for English next year! You know sometimes I think you know me better that I do."

As Gabriella headed off to the line Kirsti attached herself to Troy's arm. There was no way she was going to let that loser forget who Troy was going out with today.

As soon as they had entered the gates Kirsti listed her likes and more commonly dislikes of the zoo. Among others she complained that the zoo smelled, was crowded, didn't have her favorite animal, was too expensive, it was too hot out, she wasn't wearing sunscreen, her feet hurt, she hadn't slept well last night and was tired, and she was bored. All before they had seen their first animal.

Because the elephants were the closest to the entrance they decided to head in that direction and circle around eventually reaching the front again. The elephant enclosure wasn't far and on the short walk over Troy acquired a map. Looking over it he concluded that there were too many exhibits to view in one day. Since Kirsti had a 'delicate sense of smell' the zebras had to be dropped and because she was 'sensitive to temperature changes' the whole arctic section had to be dropped.

Even after Troy and Gabriella tried to explain to her that the temperature in the enclosures were only lowered inside. Which meant that it was still very warm outside. And that Kirsti's sensitive skin or whatever else was affected by cool air would be perfectly fine. But the blonde didn't agree and Troy had to side with Kirsti so polar bears and penguins were to be excluded from this particular research paper of Gabriella's. _I've never really liked polar bears anyway_, Gabriella tried to reason with herself even while another part of her was screaming, _this is all Kirsti's fault_! Of her the two sides in her internal conflict the angry side must have won because she never would have tripped Kirsti accidentally-on-purpose otherwise. Most likely.

"Ugh! Look what you did you clumsy-" Kirsti began to yell shrilly before realizing the scene she was making. Changing tactics the blonde sidled over to Troy willing herself to tear up.

"This was a new shirt, I wore just for you today and now it's ruined!" She whimpered pathetically. The girl was a good actress though, her boyfriend put an arm around her falling for the trick immediately.

"It's all right," he soothed "It's just a little bit of dirt, we'll stop at the next bathroom we see and Gabriella will help to clean you off." He shot an accusatory look in the brunette's direction when he said her name. _Time to do a little acting of my own, _she thought.

"I'm so _so_ sorry! I can't believe I'm that clumsy, don't worry though, I'll help you get cleaned up! And I'm pretty sure that dirt doesn't stain…" Of course dirt didn't stain, the problem was when water was added to the dirt. Any amateur scientist knew that, although now that Gabriella thought of it, Kirsti probably failed science. Especially if it had to do with the chemicals used in hair dye, that she could use a lesson in, her roots were showing again.

When they finally reached the elephant exhibit, twenty minutes after they had started out for it, Kirsti had forgiven Gabriella; but not before making sure that Gabriella was hip-checked into one of the posts outside of the bathroom.

There were three elephants, the brunette immediately began taking notes. The largest was obviously the male while the two others were female, of the two one was very light in color while the other was darker and obviously the males favorite. Every time the bull elephant tried to get close to the darker female the lighter one got in the way. The only time the two elephants that were 'in love', as Kirsti ironically mentioned, got to see each other was when the lighter one (who Gabriella was mentally referring to as Kirsti) went to drink from the watering hole across the enclosure.

The ostrich exhibit and the alligator enclosure went much the same way, no incidents there. Kirsti threw a fit before entering the reptile and bug house (though Gabriella had to agree with her about the bugs, snakes and lizards behind glass really didn't scare her) but upon Troy's insistence that he would stay right next to her they entered the semi-dark room.

"If you don't mind I'll be over here by the snakes while you two look at the spiders." Gabriella did her best to sound interested in the reptiles but Troy saw through her as usual.

"You're not afraid of spiders, are you?" His voice lilted in a teasing manner, though his eyes were squinted in confusion.

" I'm not _afraid_ of spiders." The brunette attempted to defend herself, "I just don't like the ones that can only be killed with a clown's shoe."

Kirsti, by the time their short conversation had taken place, had wandered over to the arachnids believing that Troy was right behind her. After glancing at one she turned to say something to him only to find a five year old in his place. So she did what she felt anyone would have done in her place. She screamed bloody murder.

Troy bolted off in the direction of Kirsti's scream, already thinking the worst. Upon finding her hyperventilating yet more or less alright he held her tightly.

"Oh, I was so scared baby. I thought I had lost you!" The blonde cried while her boyfriend murmured condolences in her ear.

"Maybe you should take a break. Getting, um, 'lost' must have been really stressful. And your throat must hurt from that scream." Truthfully Gabriella just wanted to get out of the bug section and sit down. Kirsti thankfully agreed, it was apparent that she didn't care in the least that Gabriella had heard her whole conversation.

The snack shop that they found was right next to the flamingos. Adding to the din the pink birds were making was Kirsti's voice complaining about the length of the line. While it was true that it seemed to stretch on forever Gabriella thought she was making much too big a deal about it. Eventually the blonde stepped into the line and the other two sat down.

"You know, flamingos are only pink because of the shrimp that they eat. With out the shrimp-" Troy attempted to impress his friend but was cut off by her instead.

"They turn brown, I know. I was the one who told you that." She laughed thinking about how nice it was with out Kirsti. Their conversations flowed much more easily and it felt as though a rainstorm had passed, the sun was shining again.

"Well did you know that some rabbits turn white in the winter time to blend in with the snow?" Troy smiled thinking that he had outsmarted his genius friend.

"I believe I used the word camouflage when I told you that." She smiled as well.

"Wanna know a secret?" He leaned closer to her.

"I don't know…What if I accidentally tell someone?" Gabriella teased but her heart raced as he leaned even closer.

"I was making that last fact up." Making a sound of false outrage she lightly smacked Troy's shoulder. She didn't realize how close they still were until she felt his breath lightly puffing on her cheek, turning her head to apologize their eyes met and held each other. When his eyes closed she whipped her head back, even if she did want to kiss him (and if she had had any doubts before they were long gone now) it wouldn't be until he and Kirsti were broken up for good.

"Sorry! Sorry…" They stammered out simultaneously. Blushing against her will Gabriella looked for a distraction, and found one.

"Let's go check out the bird house. Kirsti won't mind right?" It sounded feeble to her but Troy didn't seem to mind. He didn't even seem to mind that he had almost kissed his ex-girlfriend.

" No, not at all. She hates birds. Let's go! Now!" Then again if his rushing off (and he was already on the path that led to the large glass enclosure) was any indication…

Inside the bird house though their almost kiss was quickly forgotten, their attention changed in favor of the parrot that was sitting on Gabriella's arm and the canary on Troy's head. The small blue bird repeatedly attempted to pull on Troy's hair, much to his companion's amusement.

For the next few minutes they walked along the brick pathway joking, pointing out brightly colored birds, and in Gabriella's case scribbling notes about how differently these birds who were willing to land on her shoulder were from wild ones that flew away if she got too close.

"Where were you guys? I've been standing out here for like, ten minutes." Gabriella had to restrain herself from pointing out to Kirsti that they had only been gone for about five. Again troy and Kirsti partook in a whispered argument, and again Gabriella tried to solve it.

"Guy's let's just keep moving, there's a lot more to see and we only have an hour left before I have to get home." Another round of singing was taking place later that night and from the looks of it her song was really going to hit home.

"Well the closet exhibit is the butterfly house…" Troy looked at the map forlornly it seemed that he was thinking along the same lines as Kirsti.

"Another house? Can't we like go see the monkey's or something?"

"The butterfly house does have sixty-one different species of tropical flora though…" Truthfully Gabriella had been looking forward to seeing so many new plants, she was sure that some of them would have to have relations to some native North American plants.

"Umm…and it has something better than that." Kirsti chimed heading the direction of yet another large glass house.

"What?" The brunette couldn't imagine what Kirsti would consider better than the plants, it obviously wasn't the butterflies if her bug house performance meant anything. As they walked inside the blonde spread her arms wide and smiled.

"Air-conditioning!"

"Aren't you two forgetting the most important thing? The butterflies." Troy indicated to the iridescently winged insects flying above them.

The time in the glass house was to be short-lived however. Upon checking her watch Gabriella realized that she was quickly running out of time to get ready for the competition. She made a hasty excuse and the three piled into Troy's car, the drive home was more or less silent until Gabriella's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She picked up the phone wishing that she had checked the caller I.D.

"Hey Gabriella! It's Sharpay. I was just looking over the song you chose for to day and I think it's brilliant!"

"You do?" Gabriella had thought it was alright but there was a line that she wasn't too sure about.

"That line is…it's just pure genius. How could I have forgotten that you have to confuse him every once in a while? I told you that you were a natural at this. Bye!"

"Sharpay?" She tried to get a hold of her some-what friend but it was too late, Sharpay had already hung up the phone.

* * *

"Boy meets girl  
You were my dream, my world  
But I, was blind  
You cheated on me from behind"

Except for the cheating line the song was holding true. Of course it was that very same line about cheating that was meant to confuse Troy. As Sharpay had told her earlier, 'You don't want him to catch on too easily."

"So on my own  
I feel so all alone  
Though I know it's true  
I'm still in love with you"

She had said it. Even if Troy didn't know that the song was about him she had said it. Those six words still rang through the audience as Gabriella took a deep breath, though not so deep that the audience could hear it, and began the chorus.

_I need a miracle,  
I wanna be your girl,  
Give me a chance to see,  
That you are made for me,  
I need a miracle,  
Please let me be your girl,  
One day you'll see,  
It can happen to me_

_I need a miracle,  
I wanna be your girl,  
Give me a chance to see,  
That you are made for me,  
I need a miracle,  
Please let me be your girl,  
One day you'll see,  
It can happen to me  
It can happen to me_

The chorus had been pretty commonplace and now with nothing to do during an insanely long instrumental break she looked at Troy, his hand in Kirsti's, and she cupped the microphone in both hands and whispered into it,  
_  
"Miracle"_

The strange echoing sound filled the auditorium, whispering in the corners of the room. Troy looked up at her and looking straight at him she sung the next stanza.  
_  
"Day, and night  
I'm always by your side  
Cause I know for sure  
My love is real my feelings pure  
So take, a try  
No need to ask me why  
Cause I know it's true  
I'm still in love with you"_

Again she said it, Gabriella marveled at how easy and yet at the same time so hard it was to say those words. Instead of pondering it further she skipped to mindlessly singing the chorus again. Mindlessly, she was really just following Sharpay's orders for most of the competition. When was the last time she had made her own decision about singing, about Troy?

_"I need a miracle,  
I wanna be your girl,  
Give me a chance to see,  
That you are made for me,  
I need a miracle,  
Please let me be your girl,  
One day you'll see,  
It can happen to me_

_I need a miracle,  
I wanna be your girl,  
Give me a chance to see,  
That you are made for me,  
I need a miracle,  
Please let me be your girl,  
One day you'll see,  
It can happen to me  
It can happen to me"_

Since the whispered miracle had gone so well last time she decided that it would be a memorable way to end the song.

_"Miracle_

_Miracle"_

The song had gone really well, if the thunderous applause and appreciative comments from the judges meant anything. Gabriella was felling pretty confident when her path was blocked by Troy. He was frowning but his first words were congratulatory, if not enthusiastic.

"Good job."

"Thanks, is that all?" She already confused by his brisk manner, and somewhat stung that he wasn't attempting to make conversation.

"Yes, well no. It's just that…I never cheated on you Gabriella."

At fist she was at a loss for words, Troy had not only figured it out but he had confronted her. Gabriella could admit everything or she could lie, but wouldn't lying have the opposite affect that she wanted? Where was Sharpay? But for the first time since auditioning for American Idol knock-off the brunette made her own choice.

"Is that all?" She laughed, "Troy Bolton are you really so conceited that you think I was singing about you?"

Walking away from him she smiled. Not because she was happy about lying to him, or even because she had taken matters into her own hands. No Gabriella was smiling because she was getting to Troy.

I do not own Miracle by Cascada. Nor do I own American Idol. Please review even though it's been a month, or possibly more. I love hearing from you guys and before I forget, I'm so sorry that the last chapter was so confusing. I promise that it will make perfect sense later.


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